Gone Too Soon
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: James and Lily wonder how they'll keep living. Alice and Frank wonder the same thing. Warning for angst, talk of children death, and miscarriages


**Written for:**

 **GGE 2018:** For Jas - (Jily, Just Hold On - Louis Tomlinson)

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Women's History  
Task 3 - Write about a magical charitable organisation

 **Warning for angst, talk of children death, and miscarriages**

 **Gone Too Soon**

 _The sun goes down and it comes back up_

 _The world it turns no matter what_

 _Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh, if it all goes wrong_

 _Darling, just hold on_

xXx

Lily stared at the sunrise. Some days, she didn't believe the sun had any right going up.

"Lily?" James tentatively asked.

She didn't answer.

Firmer, James tried again. "Lily, it's time to go."

She moved slightly, but she still didn't answer him.

"Lily, you don't want to be late, do you? Alice is going to share. We should be there."

Finally, Lily tore her gaze away from the window. Her once vibrant emerald gaze was dull with pain. "Let's go," she whispered.

She stood up on shaky legs and allowed James to lead her out of the nursery.

When they arrived at the small building, they didn't pay attention to the pretty flowers. Lily glanced at the sign that stood proudly on the grass.

 ** _For those who lost during the war_**

Lily glared at it like she always did when she passed it. She really did think the founder should have been a little more discrete. Not everyone that came wanted it to be broadcasted why they came.

Then entered the air-conditioned interior. James' hand firmly clasped hers as they walked to room three. A door marked 'children' stood before her like it did in all of Lily's nightmares.

James tried to pull her inside, but Lily stayed rooted to her spot. "Lily?" he quietly asked.

"It never gets easier to come here," she finally whispered.

James pulled her into a hug.

Lily couldn't stop the way her body stiffened in his arms.

When he pulled back, he couldn't mask the pain in his eyes at her discomfort. "I know, but the therapist said this support group would help."

Lily stared down the hallway. "All of these rooms are for people who lost someone during the war: parents, siblings, friends, and children."

"At least they have somewhere to go to talk."

Lily thought about the founder of the charity. "Somehow, I doubt Malfoy's reasons for starting this charity are altruistic," she murmured.

"I agree, but I'm going to get what I can even if I don't like or trust the source. Now, no more stalling. We promised Alice we'd be here today."

"Why did we make such an idiotic promise?"

"Because she's our friend. She was there for us on our share day; we need to be there for her on her day."

Lily gripped his hand once again as they entered the almost stifling room.

She nodded slightly towards Molly. The two witches had barely known each other since Molly was older. Molly had a miscarriage when she was pregnant with her seventh child, her first girl, during the war, and now they were bound together by tragedy.

Alice stood by the table that was overflowing with food. Frank was urging her to eat, holding a muffin out to her. Alice shook her head, wrangling the tissue in a tight grip.

Lily and James moved towards the couple. She took the muffin from Frank's hand and put it on a napkin that was on the table. She pulled Alice in a hug while James clasped a hand on Frank's shoulder. The four stood together, waiting for the leader of the group to announce the meeting was beginning.

A few minutes passed before Amelia Bones stood tall and proud before the group. She said, "Okay, everyone. I hope you all have had a chance to get something to eat, but we should start."

The chairs were set up in four rows, forming a semicircle.

Amelia stood in the center of the semicircle, where everyone would be able to see her.

Alice and Frank sat in the first row. James and Lily sat in the second row, directly behind them.

Amelia looked at her clipboard. "Okay, I see here that we have a lot of stories to share. Please, let's welcome Alice and Frank Longbottom."

Frank stood up, but Alice hesitated.

Lily reached forward and squeezed Alice's shoulder. "It will be okay. Go."

Alice took a shuddering breath and stood up. She followed Frank to the middle of the semicircle while Amelia moved to an empty seat.

Frank cleared his throat. "We lost our son, Neville. V-Voldemort thought that Neville was a danger to him, so he killed a helpless baby. There was nothing we could do to stop him. We tried. We tried so hard. Bellatrix held us under a Crucio, and it was so painful. We couldn't move. It hurt so much, but nothing compares to the pain of knowing that we couldn't save our son. Our sweet boy. That his life was cut short. That he was only on this earth for one short year. That he never got to fully live. It just isn't fair."

Alice took over. "The sun rises and sets. And it's so cruel that new days continuously come when Neville isn't alive to experience it. The world keeps turning, though, and it's nothing we can do to stop it. Sometimes, it's hard just to get out of bed, knowing we won't have a baby to take care of. The house feels so big and empty and lonely. Frank and I have each other, but most of the time, it just doesn't feel like it's enough. I miss my son with my whole heart, and it's a pain that's never going to heal."

"That's something everyone in this room has in common. We all lost a son or daughter." Frank looked at Amelia and added, "Or a niece that we loved like she was our own daughter."

"And we _all_ know the pain will never going away," Alice whispered.

Lily had tears streaming down her cheeks. She leaned against James and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arm around her.

Her heart cried out for Harry, and like Alice said, the pain would never go away. Lily knew she couldn't keep living this half-life, though. Harry certainly wouldn't want this for his parents. How could she go on, though? It just felt so impossible. Too hard to imagine.

James kissed her lightly on the top of her head.

Lily knew the same question was ringing in her husband's head. How could there be life without their precious boy?

xXx

(word count: 1,025)


End file.
